Regret
by Brookcresent
Summary: what would you do to the save the one you loved most? Now learn the truth of what happens when a dream demon makes a mistake he cannot fix. Rated m for emotional turmoil and some rather nasty violence later on.
1. Chapter 1

Gravity Falls Fanfiction

Regret.

Chapter 1- Today's the day.

There is a day in Gravity falls that is remembered with great sadness; a day which many wished had not happened some forty five years ago. It was a day where two souls, now bitter enemies mourned the loss of a shared friend.

The day began with a memorial at the Gravity Falls town hall ,then a candle lit parade would make its way towards the woods; women and children would lead the way carrying bunches of flowers, of all different kinds of lilies , roses and daisies. The memorial would end around a sealed well, where well-wishers would throw those beautiful flowers onto the top of a plaque, simply reading 'here lays Ashlyn; the brightest star of all'.

But this year it would be different, for one resident of Gravity Falls was not attending the memorial and his name was Dipper Pines.

Dipper sat at his make shift desk, in the home of his Great Uncle Stan furiously reading over the final journal, that belonged to the author; which only a year ago he had discovered was also his Great Uncle Stan (Ford) . Dipper was so engrossed in the journal and trying to unravel the weakness of his Great Uncle's arch enemy and now his, Bill Cipher; a dream demon who looked like a Dorito. That he did not hear the heavy footsteps of Stanford Pines making his way to his study; his body slumping forwards not from his age but clearly something was bothering him. However Dipper did look up when he heard the sound of gruff sobs, the boy being only the tender age of thirteen still had not learnt that sometimes it was better to not investigate everything he heard.

Ford sat on a chair in his study, which he had only recently constructed looking at a picture in an old timber frame that rested upon his desk, he carefully removed his glasses and whipped furiously at the tears flowing from his eyes with the sleeve of his black jacket; carefully he brought the frame close, staring at the image inside; he looked as if he was about to say something when he heard his great nephews voice coming from behind him.

"Grunkle Stan?" The boy asked, almost hesitantly he knew his Grunkle's had a problem with their tempers, but 'Ford' had never shown any aggression towards him, well that is until now.

Despite his age the man lurched out of his seat angrily, spinning on his heel to glare down at Dipper "What are you doing here?" the man roared, his eyes seemed to glow with a golden hue around his pupil as his hands clenched into tight fists. It was evident, Ford didn't want Dipper there.

Dipper backed against the wall, rather a taken back and in truth frightened that his second Grunkle was so angry. It was that fear that caused Ford to thankfully snap out of his rage; he blinked a few times as he gazed to his frightened great nephew.

"Dipper, I'm sorry" he stammered, as he carefully placed the frame back down on his desk, the boy breathed a silent sigh of relief as he watched Ford calm. The golden hue had faded from his eyes. The colour always put Dipper on edge, for they were the same colour Bill's victims eyes turned when he possessed them.

"It's okay" Dipper replied his brown hair was a mess beneath his signature blue and white cap, which was slightly askew from the way he had backed against the wall.

Ford breathed a heavy sigh as he removed his jacket and slung it carefully over his chair as he gazed to his great nephew.

"I didn't see you with your sister at the memorial today" he answered in his usual gruff tone, he quickly slid on his heavily rimmed glasses as his eyes bored into his great nephew, it had upset him greatly that Dipper was not there but he assumed the boy was up to something.

Dipper looked to his great uncle with a slightly sheepish smile as his eyes glanced round the room, it was his second year in gravity falls and although he felt awful about not attending, Bill Cipher was his main concern.

"I was busy, Grunkle Stan. Something just came up" he attempted to lie, but he could already tell his very smart Grunkle knew exactly what was going on. After all Ford did investigate paranormal activities for a living.

"Like finding a way to stop Bill Cipher?" Ford asked, with a huff. He had to admit it was funny how much Dipper was like him and he had to admit there was a little bit of pride in his heart because of that.

Dipper could only nod in response as he took a seat next to his Grunkle Stan , it was then his eyes caught sight of a faded picture on his Grunkle's desk.  
"Hey who is that….?" He asked in confusion, before it slowly clicked; this day was all about remembering someone, someone who had meant a lot to the whole of Gravity falls. Ashlyn; "Is that Ashlyn?" He asked before adding rather childishly "she's really hot".

Ford shot the young boy a glare before shaking his head from side to side "yes that is Ashlyn, she would have been fifty nine today… instead we're celebrating her memory" he sighed sadly as he looked to his great nephew.

Dipper felt awful, as he quickly realized that his Grunkle Stan had known this girl, he began to twiddle his thumbs awkwardly as he decided to voice his suspicions.

"You knew her didn't you?" He asked.

Ford only gave a nod of his head as he looked to Dipper, he didn't say a word just handed him the picture as he seized his coat and walked outside to think.

Dipper frowned slightly as he gazed down to the girl in the picture, her hair was a beautiful blonde almost a white hue seemed to dance towards the ends, and it was long too sweeping over the left side of her face, hiding her left eye. And danced in lazy waves down her shoulders to the middle of her chest, the one eye that was visible contrasted perfectly with her tanner skin and were the most vibrant blue Dipper had ever seen; in her hair was a pink lily one of the flowers he had placed carefully upon her memorial the previous year. Her smile was eternal, a sign of her youth, the colour of her lips were pink it was evident she was wearing makeup and the rose-gold hoop that poked out of her luscious hair, caught the sun light. Dipper blinked curiously as he looked to an inscription placed upon part of the photograph with sticky tape.

 _Ashlyn at the beach May 1972_.

That was three years before her death, Dipper noted as he carefully placed the frame on his desk, he had a funny feeling there was more to Ashlyn than everyone was letting on and he intended to find out.

Elsewhere in the woods, where that very memorial lay, all the mourners had returned to the Town Hall to toast the dear girl who had died so many years ago. It was quiet except for a quiet hum which began to echo through the wood; it appeared to be a song of some kind. The wind began to pick up with a cold wind as a one dimensional triangle appeared, the dream demon known as Bill Cipher. His top hat was askew slightly and his eye was looking down with an almost sad glint, although it was very hard to tell the emotion of the Dorito on account of him not having an eyebrow.

As he neared the memorial a golden hue surrounded the triangle shaped demon and in his place stood a young man, he staggered slightly as the transformation had always been exhausting and drained a lot of Cipher's energy; but he found it was worth it now that he had a human form. It had surprised him when the man had given him the body so willingly only a year ago and now Bill was enjoying being human again. Despite all the weaknesses like needing to sleep, eat and drink. It had bonuses too; like being able to pay respects to an old friend.

Bill was very tall and slender in build and his skin was pale compared to his almost yellow and reddish black hair, he had grown a small goatee upon his sharp angled chin, to make himself look more masculine as his eyelashes gave him a slightly more feminine look; then he would have liked. His jacket was a pale yellow with a brick like pattern, which almost looked like the bricks from a pyramid of the ancient world. Beneath his jacket he wore a black waist coast; which had bright yellow stitching along the contours of his hips and the waistcoats pockets, beneath that was a white long sleeved shirt. His top half was finished off with a black bow tie and a black eye patch which covered his left eye. As this was where his energy had a nasty habit of leaking from and besides he was blind in it anyway; it made life more bearable, wearing it as his eye was heavily influenced by light and caused him pain if it was revealed to it. His long slender legs were covered in charcoal dress trousers which were finished off by black leather dress shoes, which had a gold accentuation around the top of the sole.

The eye that was showing was brimmed with tears as his black gloved hands shakily removed his top hat as he knelt in the soft grass. In his other hand he carried a bouquet of flowers he had picked himself; her favourite rose was among them.

"S-sorry I haven't been here for so long Ash…" Bill sighed sadly as he placed the flowers upon his friend's memorial plaque. The reverberant echo he used to speak with was now gone in his human form but his golden eyes were still unusual for a human. He quickly brought his sleeve up to catch the tears that were flowing from both of his eyes.

"You used to say flowers didn't like salt" Bill explained as he choked back a sob and sniffed. He was clearly upset about being here; the wound was clearly still very raw in his mind. This had been someone Bill had clearly cared about not a pawn in his games. He distracted himself by carefully planting the flowers, making sure that they would grow around her plaque. It was evident that he had done this every year as there were the same varieties of flowers everywhere around the memorial and if that was not odd enough; they were well cared for. None of the flowers had any signs of wilting every plant had its own little section and was given individual love and care.

With a heavy sigh, Bill rose using his walking cane to steady himself, he reached into his pocket to reveal a flask painted with his eye on it. He popped off the cap and raised it to the heavens. Before taking a long swig as he gazed back down to the memorial. He used to drink quite a lot when he had a physical form; he had loved the feeling of what alcohol did to him. But today he was using it dull the unimaginable pain which didn't want to go away.

"Happy birthday Ash" he uttered.

Bill began to walk quickly back the way he came, unable to hold back the tears which now rained from his eyes.

Despite his devastated sobs, Bill was able to make it to where he needed to be; the house of Stanford Pines….

 _What is Bill doing at the Pine residence? , find out in chapter two; A Grief Filled truce._


	2. Chapter 2

Gravity Falls Fanfiction.

Regret.

Chapter 2: A Grief Filled Truce.

Dipper pines sat on his sister's bed staring at the picture of Ashlyn, someone who had clearly meant a lot to not only Gravity Falls but also to his Grunkle Stan (Ford). He was curious how someone so young could still influence the lives of the people of gravity falls forty five or so years after she passed away; she must of really have been someone very special. His eyes trailed to the window in his bedroom and what he saw caused him to just about knock over the very image he had been staring so intently at only moments ago.

The tall slender frame of Bill Cipher could be seen striding quickly up to the open door of Dippers Grunkle's home. He felt a pang of terror race through him at the thought, Bill was known for making deals, deals that he seemed to enjoy changing suddenly or in the case where he had possessed Dipper before Mabel's puppet show, not reveal which 'puppet' he was planning on using.

But Dipper did not voice his fear however because he had noticed something when he was observing the way Bill was walking, his usual confident stride seemed to be gone; his body seemed to slump forward and he hid his eyes beneath his hair by keeping his head down; Bill always walked with a confidence that Dipper had shamefully come to respect. Curiosity outweighed Dippers fear this time as a question formed in his young mind. What was wrong with Bill?

As if to answer that question, Bill began to make his way up the steps, having removed his jacket and thrown it carelessly on one of the chairs downstairs. Dipper almost gasped when he saw the condition Bill was in. His one visible golden eye usually a glow with a demonic power was dulled and unblinking, beneath that eye was a dark circle; indicating he had not been sleeping much. Dipper found that the oddest thing of all, for Bill had learnt the hard way only a year ago when he had possessed Dippers body that the human body needed sleep or it would quite literally shut down.

Bill noticed that Dipper was staring and whipped round to look at him, the bitterness Dipper had expected to be in his tone was gone in its place, an emotion Dipper could only describe as grief seemed to have taken hold.

"I'm not here to make a deal , Pine Tree" The demon uttered, as he leaned heavily on the door frame of Dipper's and Mabel's shared room; Dipper had never seen the Dorito looking so exhausted and he had to admit it unnerved him slightly.

"Then why are you here?" Dipper asked once he was able to find his voice, due to their previous encounters the boy didn't trust Cipher much.

The demon seemed like he was about to answer when he noticed the image on Mabel's bed, his eyes seemed to blaze suddenly as he strode in and angrily picked it up; it was the same anger his Grunkle had shown only an hour before.

"Where, did you get this?" Cipher demanded, despite his exhaustion, he was still frightening when he lost his temper; a reddish hue seemed to dance over his visible eye; thankfully what Dipper said next seemed to calm him down.

"Grunkle Stan gave it to me; because I missed the memorial today" Dipper explained, having fallen off the bed in terror at the speed Bill had lost it.

The demon's eyes slowly reverted back to gold as he heaved a sigh and took a seat on Dipper's bed; staring at the picture of the girl.

"Why didn't you go?" Bill asked his voice had an almost far away quality to it, as he looked to the girl in the frame; his black gloved fingers gently caressing the sides of the picture; to clear away a small film of dust.

"I didn't know her…and I was reading the final journal" Dipper admitted sheepishly, when he noticed Bill's tired eye shoot up to give him a menacing glare.

"Whether you knew her or not, you should have been there…" he paused for a moment before sighing sadly "she would have liked that".

Dipper quickly put two and two together as he realized Bill was acting similarly to his Grunkle Stan. "Oh my gosh you knew her too?" Dipper cried with almost excitement in his voice.

Cipher seemed to raise an eyebrow at that as a small smile covered his mouth; it wasn't much but it made the situation less awkward he supposed.

"Course I did" The man laughed bitterly, before the sadness overwhelmed him again "She meant a lot to Ford and I".

Dipper raised an eyebrow, what on earth did Bill mean by that, 'meant a lot to Ford and I?' were they friends or something?

"What do you mean?" Dipper asked curiously as he inched closer to Bill. Who seemed too tired to care about Dipper invading his personal space, it was unusual for Dipper to do so but Bill wasn't really in his usual state of mind.

Bill turned his head to look at the boy and he had to admit seeing the boy curious was actually kind of funny, it was this thought that brought forth a laugh from him.

"Oh Pine Tree, I don't think it would be a good idea if I told you. You're too young" He teased; Bill knew that Dipper was awfully determined if he wanted information so this could get interesting.

"Come on Bill, please. I feel bad that I missed the memorial today. And now that I know you and Grunkle Stan knew her….well I want to know more about her" Dipper explained, practically hanging onto Bill's leg.

It was at that moment that Ford returned he didn't seem at all surprised that Bill was there and also didn't seem surprised that a thirteen year old Dipper Pines was latched onto the demons leg; he frowned however when he noticed the flask hanging slightly out of Bill's trouser pocket.

"You're drunk aren't you?" Ford asked the demon with a groan.

"Nope, just tipsy" Came Cipher's reply as he shrugged his shoulders and gazed back down to Dipper who was still wrapped around his leg.

Dipper, turned to his Grunkle Stan as the man walked calmly inside and sat on Mabel's bed on the opposite side of the room, it was evident something was going on.

"Why are you two being so 'nice' to each other?" Dipper asked using quotation fingers to make his point more clear.

Bill and Ford looked to each other, blinking in confusion for a few moments; as if they were both unsure whether or not it was wise to tell Dipper, Ford seemed to make up his mind first his gaze steeling before nodding deciding it was time to explain a few things to Dipper.

"Take a seat Dipper" Ford uttered, patting the bed to invite the boy over. Bill made himself comfortable on Dipper's bed leaning against the soft pillows as he relaxed slightly, Ford sat rigid as he always did watching Cipher carefully before both men turned their attention back to Dipper.

"We both knew Ashlyn well, Dipper" Ford began as Bill took another swig from his flask; Ford rolled his eyes but continued "And so to honour that friendship on her birthday each year we have a truce of sorts".

"Grief filled" Bill interrupted starting to feel the effects of the alcohol; but he wanted to be slightly out of it to tell what he needed to tell.

"We were her best friends; Bill was almost her boyfriend…" Ford paused before frowning in confusion and looking to Bill "were you two dating?" He asked.

Bill shrugged his shoulders before speaking.

"Yeah pretty sure we were, I mean we didn't make it 'official'" Bill explained, when he noticed Dippers shocked face he added "We didn't have Facebook then, so being official usually meant a memento of some kind that you wore on your person…like a promise ring".

Dipper's mouth just dropped as he looked to Bill and Ford.

"Ashlyn x Bill?" He asked dumbfounded, before shaking his head from side to side "Oh Mabel would ship it like FedEx".

Ford managed a light chuckle at that before he continued "anyway Ashlyn, was born in 1956 in Memphis City; when she was eight years old she moved here to Gravity Falls." He began, before Dipper interrupted.

"But you must be older than her by at least five years or something Grunkle Stan…"

"Are you going to let me finish?" Ford asked looking slightly annoyed. His look was all it took for Dipper to shut up.

"Anyway" Ford cleared his throat as he continued. "She was thirteen years old when I met her in nineteen sixty nine. And I was around nineteen when we first met. I had set up a little stall at one of the markets and she came up to see me…"

It was then something weird happened, a large flat screen TV appeared out of nowhere and a DVD menu popped up for a TV series titled 'The adventures of Gravity Falls', the menu quickly changed to an episode reflection and hovered yellow over the first episode titled.

 _When Stanford met Ashlyn._

"Bill?" Ford flashed him a look of confusion as he saw the screen.

"It's easier to show the kid, plus we can hear her voice again" the demon explained with a shrug.

"I'll get the popcorn "Dipper cried rushing down stairs to make some.

Ford's expression turned sober as he gazed to Bill.

"Is he going to see all the episodes?" Ford asked dropping his voice to a whisper, knowing that Dipper was young and the subject they were about to watch was still quite raw for both him and Cipher.

"He wants to know about her, so let's show him everything" Cipher grinned slightly; Ford only nodded as Dipper burst back in holding a large bowl of popcorn. Bill laughed as he sat down on the floor next to Dipper, having grabbed two pillows for himself and the boy to sit on.

"Scoot over pine tree" he grinned as he crossed his legs like a child and pressed play on the movie…

 _That's the end of the second chapter. What happened when Stanford met Ashlyn? Find out in Chapter 3 When Stanford Met Ashlyn._


	3. Chapter 3

Gravity Falls Fanfiction

Regret.

Chapter 3: When Stanford Met Ashlyn _._

The episode opened with a view of gravity falls in nineteen sixty nine, a year when the swinging sixties were coming to an end and the disco tunes of the nineteen seventies were beginning to rear their heads. Or that is how it was everywhere else except of course gravity falls, which as it was now was always a little bit behind the times.

It was a sunny Sunday in the spring time and as was tradition a great market was being held to sell all the produce that was made in gravity falls that wonderful spring. It was also the time when the local sports clubs showed what they were made of and there was one young girl who was making a name for herself for all the right reasons.

A petite blonde haired girl, no older than thirteen years old zoomed through the finish line of the 800 metre race, as always the girl had come first. She panted heavily but giggled as she was given a gold medal for her hard work. She was the captain of many sports teams including the equine; cameras were everywhere and news reporters littered the school field. Usually the girl was more than happy to talk, but today she was intent on enjoying a warm spring afternoon in the place she loved.

At that very moment a young man named Stanford Pines who was nineteen years old at the time sat irritably behind his stall attempting to sell a book on his paranormal adventures. Of course no one would believe him here but he knew Gravity Falls had many secrets and he intended to find them. He wore a red short sleeved shirt and blue jeans. His hair was short and hadn't really changed even now; his six fingered hands were resting contently on the pile of books. He had not sold even one today and that made him slightly angry, how was he going to pay this year's rent?

It was at that moment he caught sight of a young girl and her parents, a gold medal was worn proudly around her neck. She was quite small for her age and he blinked in surprise as she walked past the stores greeting everyone by name and looking eagerly at everything they had in their store, before she moved onto another. Stanford craned his neck slightly so he could hear what was being said. Everyone was congratulating the young girl on a great race; he had heard that the Gravity Falls School had done very well in athletics this year. It seemed her school were also proud of her, as the young girl neared the amusement side of the market. The school's principal seemed to grin as the young girl strode confidently up to a tank with a target painted onto one side; Stanford deduced quite quickly that the target was a trigger to drop the plank the principal was sitting on.

"Congratulations" Stanford heard the principal say. He noticed the girl just dipped her head in thanks as she carefully took one of the balls, the ball which would dunk him in freezing cold water if she hit the target; which of course she did.

Stanford watched as the principal came up to the surface, coughing and spluttering but also laughing; the girl had already turned away from the amusement side of the market and was walking towards his stall at the very end of the area which was littered with stalls of all kind; he blinked when he noticed she was staring at his stall most intently of all.

The girl's eyes were a blue Stanford had never seen before and he was stunned when they met with his; she was licking a chocolate ice cream as she walked over to his stall; it was now he was able to get a good look at her. Despite her petite build the girl also seemed athletic; her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail so it would not bother her as she ran he assumed. She wore a white singlet with bright blue shorts; obviously the schools track team's uniform, for the warmer months.

"Hello" he greeted , his voice did not have the gruff tone yet that it was infamous for but he did sound irritated; at the start of the day he had been so optimistic about gaining a profit from his books; now he was just getting more and more annoyed.

The girl didn't acknowledge him at first instead she was looking at his stall, her eyes gazed to him after a while and she just about squealed with excitement when she noticed his hands.

"Wow you have six fingers on both your hands" she grinned looking at them in awe; she hoped she hadn't offended him, with blurting it out like that. She was great at athletics, but her human interaction probably needed a bit more work.

Stanford looked dumbfounded for a moment before he gazed to her face. He was trying to get a read of her body language. He had been bullied quite a bit for his extra fingers when he was younger and was very surprised when he realized she wasn't making fun of him.

"Uh…yeah" he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

The girl grinned and grabbed his left hand to have a closer look and the young man found himself blushing because of it. Back in those days this sort of interaction was still okay.

"Does it make it easier to grab stuff?" the girl asked.

Stanford let out a large laugh at that; to be honest he had never really thought about it much. He had been born with six fingers on his hands after all; he had never had five so he couldn't really say.

"I don't know".

"Oh" the girl also laughed at that, of course he wouldn't have; he was born with them. Gosh she could be such a blonde sometimes.

Stanford smiled once he had stopped laughing, she was such a well-mannered girl and he could sense a great deal of intelligence behind her blonde façade.

"I'm Stanford, welcome to paranormal investigations" he sighed rather dejectedly, but kept up his smile.

"Paranormal investigations, that's so cool" The girl grinned glancing to Stanford in excitement "is that book about your adventures?" She asked.

Stanford was almost a taken back as he watched the girl quickly scan over the book.

"Sure are kid" He grinned as she looked up at him "Although I must admit, you don't look like the type of person who would be interested in my books"

"Why, because I'm a girl?" She asked, looking up from the book she looked very amused with the way her eyebrow was raised as she shook her head from side to side at Stanford's ramblings. "No, no of course not" Stanford tried to explain. But the girl just continued to laugh before smiling softly at him. "Don't worry, I'm used to it I'm a blonde that has brains talk about paranormal" she joked.

Stanford raised an eyebrow, athletic and intelligent? That was a rare combination in someone so young.

"Not at all just makes you, one in a million I guess" Stanford replied shaking his head in amusement. He was being serious with that comment too. Being blonde and smart typically didn't go hand in hand and he could tell she was a natural blonde.

"Thank you" The girl beamed with a smile that was so warm, he could feel the heat radiating off of it.

"You're welcome, so what do you think. Like the book?" Stanford asked genuinely curious about what the girl thought; which was odd usually he didn't care about other people's feelings on his work, his usual demeanour was just buy it already but this time he genuinely wanted to know what the girl thought.

The girl calmly closed it and smiled politely at him, her eyes a blaze with kindness and youth. "It's amazing, especially the chapter about the dream demon…Cipher…" she uttered.

Stanford raised an eyebrow at that, Cipher? She was interested in Cipher most of all. He had to admit he was very impressed.

"His legends come from here you know" he replied.

The girls eyes lit up like the fourth of July she was grinning like an idiot, as she leaned over the stall more. "Really? Oh my god have you met him…wait can I meet him?" she seemed absolutely ecstatic; it was possible that she was curious too.

Stanford blinked slowly as he looked to her, he had met Bill and he knew the demon had a nasty habit of toying or mocking those who summoned him. Stanford didn't think it was wise for the girl to meet the dream demon. He was about to answer but she somehow seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

"Or is he a little bit too dangerous for a first encounter?" she asked, fumbling in her purse for some money, she clearly liked Stanford's book a lot.

Stanford thought about it for a few moments, Cipher was a good friend but he could be a little bit unpredictable if you didn't know he was joking around most of the time; for the first time in his life Stanford seemed almost unsure of what to say, thankfully the money distracted him.

"No, no there's no need for you to pay" He uttered, a little flustered as he carefully grabbed her hand; he could feel her heart pounding as he did so and he himself was blushing and he felt rather embarrassed a girl so young could have this sort of effect on him.

The girl seemed to raise an eyebrow at his behaviour before she giggled and used the hand he wasn't holding to put her money away.

"Okay, okay but you must let me do something for you…this book is just amazing. I can't possibly take it for free" The girl explained.

Stanford thought long and hard about what he could possibly want from the girl. Wait, why was he thinking of her as just a girl; oh right he didn't know her name yet.

"Well how about your name for starters" Stanford suggested a large smile crossing her face as he let her hand go.

The girl was about to answer, when a loud booming voice followed by a shrill high class female voice echoed behind them.

"Ashlyn".

Stanford blinked as the girl turned around, Ashlyn? So that was her name, that was quite pretty; he wondered was her nickname Ashley.

Ashlyn turned around to the sight of her 'parents', her father was tall and muscular, his hair was jet black and he had a small moustache upon his face; he wore a navy suit and a signet ring on his right hand. Indicating he was a gentleman, as gentleman always wore a signet ring upon their right hand.

He had his arm around a smaller woman, with the same blonde hair as Ashlyn but it was cut short; in fact Ashlyn seemed to take after these women more than she did her father; there was one difference however. Her eyes were so much brighter than both her mother and father's eyes. The women wore a long flowing dress and had a flower in her hair. Stanford noted that the women did not seem to be the type who would willingly wear a flower in her hair, so he assumed it was a gift from Ashlyn or perhaps another sibling.

"Oh, Hello Mother, Hello Father" Ashlyn greeted politely as she placed the book carefully in her bag, her father raised an eyebrow for a moment before he smiled; he seemed to understand his daughters behaviour a lot more than the mother did who was looking at her now muddy track clothes in distain.

"Ashlyn, I'm going to have to wash that now, what have you been doing?" The women asked.

Stanford felt slightly awkward watching the interaction as Ashlyn explained she had been doing the three legged race and had tripped over with her partner down the hill.

"You're thirteen Ashlyn not three" Came her mother's curt reply as she looked to Stanford, with slight distrust. Stanford felt like shrinking behind his stall when she did so, that woman made him nervous.

Thankfully Ashlyn's father came to his daughters rescue "Now, now Edith. Ashlyn was just having some fun; why don't you go wait by the car dear" The father offered, able to diffuse the oncoming fight, Stanford could sense was brewing.

Edith seemed to nod as she walked off without another word. The father breathed a sigh of relief as he looked to his daughter "are you going to introduce me to this man?" He asked his daughter.

Ashlyn blushed as she looked to Stanford, quickly realizing she didn't even know his name yet. Thankfully Stanford came to her aid.

"My name is Stanford Sir, but most people call me Ford; I investigate paranormal activities" he explained sticking out a hand for the older man to shake.

He was almost surprised when the man accepted it, there was a cheeky grin on his face and Stanford quickly realized he was a lot like his daughter. Curious and hid behind a façade of gentlemen when in reality he was so much more interesting.

"Tis, a pleasure Ford. I am Cameron and this is my daughter Ashlyn; the grouch you met is Ashlyn's step mother Edith" The man replied with a slight chuckle.

Stanford made a mental note of the step mother thing; he'd ask Ashlyn about it if they met again. "Nice to meet you Cameron, Sir" he answered with a smile, surprised at the strength of the man's handshake.

"Oh don't call me Sir, I get enough of that at work; Cameron is just fine" Cameron laughed as Ashlyn looked away with a slight blush; she knew her father was up to something.

"Ford, are you up to anything this Wednesday?" Cameron asked, as he looked to the man behind the stall with a grin. Ashlyn looked as if she was about to hit her father multiple times, with something as her eyes widened.

"Uh no, Cameron I'm not" Stanford uttered, a little stunned to notice what was going on.

"Excellent, Ashlyn's fourteenth birthday party is on that day; I would so love if you came along" the man replied.

"Dad…." Ashlyn groaned she couldn't believe he was doing this; what if Stanford didn't want to come; what if he thought that she was weird? All these thoughts began to run through Ashlyn's mind so quickly that she didn't even hear what Stanford had said until her father began to pull his stunned daughter back towards the car.

"I…I'll be there".

He'd be there. Ashlyn's head shot up as she watched Stanford get further and further away; she felt ecstatic. She had met a nice young man who was coming to her birthday party on the inside she was screaming ecstatically. Thankfully she only managed a wave as she sat in the front seat of her father's car.

Stanford smiled as he waved back and began packing up his stall, He couldn't wait for next Wednesday, but he had to find the girl a present of some kind. A thought slowly dawned on him; He had no idea what to get her.

End of Episode.

As the credits rolled over the screen Dipper turned to his Grunkle Ford with a grin, he couldn't believe how awkward the man had been when he was that young. It was then a question popped into Dippers mind.

"So what, happened at the birthday party? "Dipper asked, curiously.

Stanford looked to Bill and then back to Dipper.

"Let's just say it wasn't what I expected" He admitted.

Bill then pressed play on the next episode, a sad glint in his eye.

 _What happens, when Stanford goes to Ashlyn's Birthday Party? How does Bill fit in? And what do you buy a girl like Ashlyn. Find out in the next chapter. Birthday._

 _Note: The reason for the central text in the episode part is to differentiate between the episode and the present day. If it is too confusing I can easily change it in the next chapter._


	4. Chapter 4

Gravity Falls Fanfiction.

Regret.

Chapter 4- Birthday.

It was only three days until Ashlyn's fourteenth birthday and Stanford was stumped. He had no idea what to buy her, he had asked everyone he could think of for ideas but no one was giving him anything useful. So, he sat at his desk in his small little rental property wondering what to buy a girl like Ashlyn.

She was so unlike any other person Stanford had ever met. She was curious, intelligent, athletic yet petite and she was blonde. It was the weirdest combination of personality traits that Stanford had ever come across and he loved it. There was no one like Ashlyn in Gravity Falls she was unique. She genuinely thought his work was interesting, she genuinely wanted to be his friend and she genuinely thought his six fingers were cool.

He was so busy thinking about Ashlyn that he didn't notice the shadow of a triangle hovering above his head.

"What you up to six fingers?" came the voice.

Stanford leapt out of his chair and clutched his chest; before calming when he realized it was none other than Bill Cipher, his triangle friend from somewhere known as the nightmare scape.

"Bill" Stanford rasped out as his heart threatened to explode from his chest, which he knew Bill would of found hilarious, "don't sneak up on me like that".

The Triangle looked amused as he hovered to sit down on Ford's desk, his eye gazed over every detail curiously; it was then he noticed some scribbles with the words Ashlyn's birthday written on the top, which seemed to peak his never ending curiosity.

"Ooh, who's Ashlyn?" Bill asked curiously; sliding the piece of paper over with his small walking cane, so that he could get a closer look at it. Even without a mouth it was evident Bill was grinning.

"A friend…" Stanford responded, looking to Bill who seemed more curious than usual.

"What like a girlfriend?" Bill asked.

Stanford looked dumbfounded as he looked to the demon in surprise, Bill laughed at this; his laughter echoing around them.

"I've had my eye on you" Bill replied waving one of his hands dismissively at Stanford's expression.

Stanford frowned as he put two and two together. _All knowing eye, of course_ , Stanford thought to himself before he looked back to Cipher, sometimes the demon could get on his last nerve.

"Bill, what are you doing here?" Stanford asked exasperated as the triangle began to float around him. Bill didn't seem to like his 'friends' tone very much but kept it to himself as he looked to Stanford.

"Yeesh, Stanford; you really are worked up aren't you. It was a joke buddy; but you two did seem to hit it off pretty quick" The triangle replied gleefully, slinging one of his arms around Stanford's shoulder. Before continuing "And she looks 'nice'" The Dorito noted.

Stanford felt a smile slowly creep onto his face as he looked to Bill, why would Bill Cipher say a girl looked nice unless…

"Wait, do you want to meet her or something?" The young man asked. The reaction he got wasn't what he had been expecting and he wished he had a camera right then and there to capture the moment.

Bill seemed to blush, but it was completely over exaggerated his whole his body became bright pink as he looked to Stanford almost panicked.

"N-no. Course not why would I be interested in a pretty girl" he asked, unaware he had just given himself away yet again.

Stanford grinned, enjoying this new side to Bill "So you think she's pretty huh?" he asked.

Bill looked as if he was about to explode with embarrassment as he flailed his arms to emphasize his point. "No. No…that's not what I meant".

Stanford began to laugh as Bill tried and failed to come up with a coherent sentence to explain himself "I mean, she's nice looking….Uh no, no that's not what I meant either" Bill groaned still a brilliant shade of pink.

Finally Cipher gave up "Alright, alright she's pretty…there I said it but that doesn't mean anything" he uttered defiantly.

Stanford raised an eyebrow unable to wipe the smug grin off of his face it was hard enough hiding his fit of laughter that was going on inside of his head at that very moment. This was priceless this was a new side to the triangle he had never seen before and he loved it.

"What's wrong with me" Bill groaned placing his head in his hands, as he began to calm down. It was evident Bill was not fully aware of what it was to be human yet and had obviously never been attracted to someone before.

Stanford decided it was best to put the poor dream demon out his misery and explain what he was feeling.

"I think you have a crush" Stanford explained.

"A what, what's a crush?" Came Cipher's panicked response as he looked to Stanford it sounded painful and usually Bill was all for suffering through pain but this time he seemed almost frightened of what a crush was. Stanford seemed to be enjoying this thoroughly; finally he knew something that Bill didn't.

"It's a human thing, a crush is someone you think is nice looking and you have feelings for but you don't know if they feel the same way".

Bill sighed as he slowly became less pink and his speech slowed back to it's usual momentum "I've never felt something like that before" he admitted, as he looked to Stanford who seemed to be questioning him how he had begun to feel this way about a girl he'd never met.

"Well I was watching the track day, because I heard all this screaming and yelling and thought something terrible was happening . When I got there I was actually pretty disappointed" the demon admitted, before letting out a sigh as he continued. "Anyway they called for the runners for the eight hundred metres to assemble and they were all girls around the same age. Most of them were jogging on the spot but one of them was just standing there, as if she had her eyes on the prize already and was saving her energy. I was so far away I couldn't see her face but I could tell there was something different about her. Anyway the gun went off and they were up and running the girl who had caught my eye was lagging behind a lot. In fact she was almost last; it was then I realized she could have easily won the race but instead she was jogging on the spot beside a very unfit girl, helping her through it by encouraging her and staying by her…I'd never seen anyone blow a chance at winning like that. I was actually pretty happy when I realized it was just another heat. "Cipher explained; his eye softening significantly as he continued. "When it was time for the final, she beat them all by miles and then when it was time for her victory lap she pulled that other kid onto the track with her to share in the moment. I had to get closer I wanted to know who she was so I conjured up my telescope and something weird happened".

Stanford was leaning back in his chair thinking carefully when he noticed Bill had stopped talking. "What happened?" He asked.

Bill was rubbing his hands together almost anxiously as he spoke. "I started getting dizzy and it felt as if something had just kicked me in the gut and I could feel myself internally screaming. I'd never felt anything like it, I mean it would have been funny if I haven't been freaking out so much. So I followed her at a distance and when I noticed that she was interested in the paranormal I got real nervous…and hid in the woods".

Stanford blinked in confusion as he looked to Cipher, Why would he be nervous if Ashlyn liked the paranormal? That sounded a little odd even for someone as strange as Bill Cipher. "Why did that make you nervous?" Stanford asked curiously, this was just getting more and more interesting by the second.

Bill looked to Stanford "well, I'm not exactly the most normal of paranormal am I. And after the way she referred to me as 'dangerous' I didn't think I had much of a shot" he admitted.

Stanford shook his head from side to side as he looked to Bill. "Bill she didn't mean it like that, she was so excited when she was reading about you. But she thought you might be a little too much for a first encounter with the paranormal; believe me I think she would really want to meet you. Just maybe not yet" he explained.

Bill seemed to frown at that before an idea struck him "well what if she met me, but not this me" he seemed to grin, as Stanford looked alarmed.

"Oh no, we are not going through you going human again" Stanford uttered. Concern clearly etched into his voice.

"Why not?" Bill seemed to pout as he looked to Ford, with a look of distain.

"Because you fainted Bill for three days…and nothing I did was going to wake you".

"That's because it takes a lot of energy to do and besides the body I have now, is a lot stronger than the previous one; come on six fingers I'll be fine. And then I can help you look for birthday presents for Ashlyn, what do you say. Deal?" Bill asked it was clear there was no deal to be made and Bill was only using it to quell Stanford's nerves; he was nervous too it had not been much fun being plagued by nightmares for three days and being incapable of waking up from them; he was supposed to have been the master of nightmares and dreams. And yet, when he was in a physical form he was plagued by them. At least he had learnt how to partially ignore them so he could let his body regain its energy. It was one of the many downsides to being human but it had its perks too. He could feel pain again. Something he quite enjoyed experiencing.

"If you faint again…" Stanford began.

"Then you will have infinite opportunities to say I told you so when I wake up" Bill explained, hovering off the desk and moving to a part of the room where he wouldn't break anything.

His body began to glow and Stanford had to avert his eyes before he was blinded by the light radiating from Cipher's body; the transformation slowly began to take the shape of a human and soon the light faded to reveal Bill's human form.

His eyes were still closed and his head was down; but Stanford could tell Bill was conscious from the sound of his heavy pants for air. His form hadn't really changed much from how it looked forty five years later; except he did look younger probably around sixteen or seventeen years old and he had yet to grow a small goatee upon his angular chin.

"Bill, you okay?" Stanford asked hesitantly as the human leaned heavily on a cane; in a pose resembling that of the famous comic book villain The Riddler. Slowly Bill raised his head to look at Stanford a weak smile across his face.

"Never better six fingers" he replied, twirling his cane as he looked himself over "wow, I look real good" he burst out laughing as he walked a little closer to the desk and unknowingly a secret staircase.

Stanford breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Bill closely, he seemed okay this time; he didn't look like he was going to collapse to the floor. Well for a few minutes anyway.

"Whoa, I feel dizzy; hey Ford catch me" Bill uttered as his body suddenly swayed backwards. Stanford went to catch the young man, but missed and Bill's body made a sickening cracking sound as it began to fall down the stairs. The cracking sound was soon followed by whacks and thumps. Stanford cringed as he peered down the bottom of the staircase to a barely conscious Bill.

"Bill?" Stanford called rushing to his side. Bill didn't seem overly there as he looked groggily up to Stanford before his vision went black.

"Pain is awesome…" he mumbled before passing out.

Bill had no idea how long he had been out for before the pain from the fall brought him round. He groaned in pain and shielded his left eye as he realized his eye patch was missing, it must have been the feeling of the light piercing through his closed eyelids that had brought him round.

"Ford" he called weakly, holding an un-gloved hand up to his left eye to shield it from the light. Wait why were his hands un-gloved. His right eye soon told him that he was only in his underwear. Thankfully he had a few blankets draped over him; he instinctively pulled them up higher to hide his embarrassment.

"Ford" he yelled louder this time and breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the heavy footsteps of Ford walking into the room.

"Well, new record you were only out about three hours" Stanford uttered, relief was clear in his voice.

Bill though didn't seem too happy, with waking up with his suit gone "where the hell are my clothes?" he demanded.

Stanford smiled as he brought the weak looking Bill Cipher a glass of water. "They are being washed, since you bled all in them".

"Oh" Bill responded as he drank the water, realizing he had a few bandages covering various areas of his body. "Do you have my eyepatch, my left eye is absolutely on fire…and as much as I love the sensation. I'd rather have it go away" he explained, looking round for his eyepatch.

He breathed a massive sigh of relief as Stanford handed it to him, carefully he took it in both his hands, and his left eye was watering heavily as he quickly slipped it over his head and carefully positioned it over his left eye. He was just about sobbing from the pain; when it finally eased with the help of the eyepatch.

"Thanks six fingers…" he uttered.

Stanford sighed as he carefully repositioned the eyepatch, as part of the cord was twisted. "Don't mention it, now why don't we find some clothes that will fit you around here and then try and find something for Ashlyn's birthday".

"Ashlyn, so that's her name. A shooting star in gravity falls" Bill muttered to himself.

Stanford blinked as he looked to Bill "Shooting Star?" He asked.

Bill grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck, which was stiff anyway "Yeah my nickname for her, you know she moves real fast but she's also bright…so you know a shooting star"

Stanford gave a lop sided smile as he looked to Bill "that suits her" he admitted with a nod of approval. Surprised he liked it.

Bill practically beamed as he flung out of the bed and began rummaging in Stan's closet for some clothes "lame, lame. Did your grandpa give you this in his will or something…? Ooh, this I like this" Bill replied with a grin as he looked at the yellow t-shirt and blue jeans he could see sticking out at the back.

Stanford rolled his eyes at Bill's comments he knew the demon was into the more modern clothing anyway and was impressed when Bill came across the clothes he did.

"Don't know if those will fit you" Stanford explained, before having to eat his words. Even in his human form Bill still had abilities. But Stanford had no idea those abilities meant he could make other clothes fit him, other than his signature suit.

"I stand corrected" Stanford uttered as Bill was changed in a few seconds thanks to his powers. Bill also had a very smug look on his face, as he strode confidently towards the mirror.

"Not bad, needs some boots for shoes but not at all bad. Why haven't I seen you wearing these six fingers?" Bill asked.

Stanford shrugged his shoulders before smiling "not really my style and besides they suit you better" he noted.

Bill smirked and put on a girly voice to make what he said next more comedic "Oh, stop six fingers you're making me blush".

Stanford finally was able to let out the laugh he had been holding in for so long and soon Bill joined him, the two young men must have looked like such clowns laughing away at some form of inside joke between just the two of them.

"Oh, yeah my sides; gets me every time" Bill uttered before shaking his head from side to side in amusement. "Anyway, shall we be off; I've never been shopping for a birthday present before", it was evident he was bored as he the now human demon grinned and balanced on one leg

"Hey Stanford, I wonder how long I can stay balanced at the top of the stairs on one leg" he uttered, before suddenly losing his balance as he once again fell down the stairs.

"Whoops not that long".

"Bill" Stanford yelled anger mixed in with his concern this time.

There was a muffled groan followed by a loud "I'm okay".

 _Birthday present shopping with Bill Cipher? What madness could possibly come from that find out in the next Chapter. A present for Ashlyn._


	5. READ THIS

A Gravity Falls Story.

Regret

A Message From The Author.

I decided that I should improve Regret as I feel that it was not up to the standard that I wanted it to be.

The story has gone through a major overhaul incorporating the timeline of the Gravity Falls TV series and my timeline of what happened previously in the lives of the characters.

I have also matured since I wrote Regret for the first time, which means the story is now more complicated and in a word darker.

This story is going to be updated whenever I finish the chapters. I don't care anymore if anyone reads this.

But if you do.

Thank you so much.

You are welcome to do fan art of the series if you like.

But please send me the links to them, because I would love to see them :)

I will be posting drawings of the characters on my DeviantArt Brookcresent as well. So if you have any questions, then it is the best place to find me.

Once again thank you all for your lovely support of my stories and please sit back and enjoy Regret.


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